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Probe begins in Port Bruce bridge collapse

Onlookers gather at the collapsed Imperial Road bridge in Port Bruce on Sunday. The structure gave out while a fully-loaded dump truck was driving across it Friday. (DALE CARRUTHERS / THE LONDON FREE PRESS)

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The cause of a collapsed bridge in this Lake Erie community that drew a steady stream of curious onlookers over the weekend could be known as early as this week.

An engineering firm surveyed the Imperial Road bridge on Saturday and will submit a report to Malahide council sometime this week, Malahide Township Mayor Dave Mennill said Sunday.

The site of the collapsed span over Catfish Creek has remained untouched since it gave out while a dump truck with a full load of gravel was driving across it Friday.

A sign warns motorists at the collapsed Imperial Road bridge in Port Bruce on Sunday. The structure gave out while a fully-loaded dump truck was driving across it Friday. DALE CARRUTHERS / THE LONDON FREE PRESS

“Everything’s kind of on hold until we get the report from the engineering firm,” Mennill said, adding that the scene can’t be disturbed until the cause of the collapse is determined.

“Once that’s done, then we have to figure out how we’re going to get the truck off. We’ll need to get a crane that’s big enough to handle it.”

The two-lane bridge broke apart in two sections following days of heavy rain and melting snow that left Catfish Creek — the body of water running underneath that empties into Lake Erie — swollen and clogged with massive ice chunks.

Firefighters rescued truck driver Scott Barber, 27, who was unhurt after his vehicle slid down the broken section.

An assessment on the bridge in 2016 showed it was structurally sound, Mennill said: “It passed with flying colours.”

Built in the 1960s, the two-lane Imperial Road bridge is the main entrance into Port Bruce, a lakeside community about 25 kilometres east of Port Stanley with roughly 200 year-round residents. The loss of the bridge forced motorists to take a five-kilometre detour.

The bridge does not belong to Ontario's Ministry of Transportation. A previous version of this story included incorrect information.